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impeller problem?
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:31 pm
by greg
can anyone tell me if the bongo is prone to having a problem on the water pump with the impella or inpella?
thanks.

Re: impella problem?
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:43 pm
by Simon Jones
Just fitted a new water pump on my engine & I was amazed how good the the condition of the old one was. Haven't looked in detail, but there was no rust on the impeller which makes me wonder if it's stainless steel. It certainly didn't need replacing, but I changed it as part of an overhaul of the cooling system.
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:35 pm
by greg
cheers its looking like it might be the the cap on the expansion tank failing, so i'll replace that and see what happens
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:31 pm
by The Great Pretender
greg wrote:cheers its looking like it might be the the cap on the expansion tank failing, so i'll replace that and see what happens
Why?
What is happening?
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:09 am
by judgeyc
This is Gregs Bro in law.We've had mystery coolant loss from this.No head type shenanigans,just a few weeks then dumps some coolant,or seems to have air in the system.
I asked him to query on here in case there was tales of impellers falling off the backs of waterpumps (quite common now,see cheapo plastic ones on Vw engines) because its never actually overheated and thought it could be possible the engine was overheating locally and the coolant staying still in the engine.Thought this may be possible as its such a big lump.
Anyway,just read a post stating coolant pressure caps can be a problem (I did mention this to him so was quite chuffed when someone else had too.....) There is some staining under the cap so see how we go.
I know you all love the cracked head scenario,but there is no other symptoms and certainly no undue tank pressure so Gregor will let you know!!!!!!!!
If this doesn't solve it,he's buying an aircooled camper!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers all

Re: impella problem?
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:42 pm
by greg
thanks there judgeyc, and no i wont be buying an air cooled camper, cant seem to find replacement cap on here or bongobits so gonna make another post to see if anyone knows where to get one
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:40 am
by Simon Jones
The seem standard on several Japanese cars. Try a search for 'cap AND tank' or 'cap AND header AND tank'. See
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... rd#p187169 for some info.
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:07 pm
by greg
cheers simon
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 10:36 am
by Aethelric
judgeyc wrote:This is Gregs Bro in law.We've had mystery coolant loss from this.No head type shenanigans,just a few weeks then dumps some coolant,or seems to have air in the system.
I asked him to query on here in case there was tales of impellers falling off the backs of waterpumps (quite common now,see cheapo plastic ones on Vw engines) because its never actually overheated and thought it could be possible the engine was overheating locally and the coolant staying still in the engine.Thought this may be possible as its such a big lump.
Anyway,just read a post stating coolant pressure caps can be a problem (I did mention this to him so was quite chuffed when someone else had too.....) There is some staining under the cap so see how we go.
I know you all love the cracked head scenario,but there is no other symptoms and certainly no undue tank pressure so Gregor will let you know!!!!!!!!
If this doesn't solve it,he's buying an aircooled camper!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers all

Just a thought:-
The pressure cap on the header tank is set to open at a lower pressure than that on the radiator cap. When it opens it will let a little air out of the system.
But if the caps are reversed, or the wrong ones fitted then the radiator one may open first, which will let coolant out of the system.
Dave
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:02 pm
by greg
i've been informed that a 1.1 bar cap is needed for the expansion tank so going looking tomorrow and will let you know the outcome as soon as
greg
Re: impella problem?
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:43 am
by dandywarhol
Can anyone explain why there's a pressure cap on the radiator?
The original radiator has no overflow outlet, so where can the overpressurised coolant go to? It can't get past the cap seal!
Out of 6 Bongos I've checked only two had a plain (non pressure spring) cap fitted to the radiator. The othe 4 had a cap with "radiator use only" on their red 1.1 BAR caps.
I'm wondering if Japanese garages/owners are fitting pressure caps because they're easier to get

I conducted a poll some time back about the permutations of caps on Bongos but I can't find it in the archives.
The Lushprojects sketch shows that theres a "short" cap fitted to the radiator and a longer (pressure?) cap on the reservoir, with different part numbers:
http://www.lushprojects.com/bongoparts/ ... of02).html
My thoughts are that the radiator cap should be a plain, non pressure cap which is used for filling the radiator and the pressure/vacuum valve cap is fitted to the reservoir.